Chapter 3: Contracting

"Teacher, please accept a bow from your student." Li Xian solemnly bowed.

"You’ll be the death of this old man..." The elderly jade craftsman, who had lived a life of simplicity, never imagined that in his old age, he would have the chance to teach a noble student a "lowly trade." His feelings were so complicated that they were beyond words.

Li Xian, however, spoke with sincerity. "Teacher, I would like to learn how to make jade lamps."

"Alright." Sun Ming finally accepted this temporary disciple and began showing Li Xian around.

Naturally, they started with the raw materials. Large pieces of jade were delivered and carefully selected for any without cracks before being cut. Since the work typically required someone at the third level of the Qi Refining stage or higher, the tools they used were sharp enough to cut through jade effortlessly—just like slicing tofu.

After that, the jade was categorized by color and quality into ten grades: "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J." Different grades of craftsmen would take corresponding grades of jade for carving.

Li Xian followed the flow of the "A" grade jade and observed as the jade craftsman skillfully shaped the stone into a cylindrical form, then began carving strange symbols onto it—formation patterns.

Once the formation was carved, a surge of true essence was infused into the jade, completing the jade lamp. The entire process took less than half an hour, much simpler than Li Xian had imagined—at least it seemed that way.

"It looks pretty simple."

"It’s not that simple. A skilled craftsman needs three years of practice to do it right. Besides, you also need some knowledge of formations. Different jades have different textures, which require different carving techniques. Look at these two."

Sun Ming pointed to two jade lamps carved by the same craftsman. Sure enough, Li Xian could immediately see the difference; the patterns on the two jade lamps varied significantly.

"When carving the formation, you need to use your spiritual sense to envelop the jade and sense the flow of spiritual energy within it. Only then can you carve the correct formation.

"Don’t underestimate this simple formation. It combines five small formations: Heavenly Yang, Earthly Yin, Spirit Gathering, Energy Absorption, and Glow.

"The Heavenly Yang and Earthly Yin formations are carved at the two ends, and they must correspond to each other. When Heavenly Yang is facing up and Earthly Yin is facing down, it forms a spiritual energy cycle with heaven and earth, activating the jade lamp. If reversed, the spiritual energy cycle is cut off, and the jade lamp will turn off.

"The Spirit Gathering formation absorbs a small amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, serving as the power source for the jade lamp to glow.

"The Energy Absorption formation stores the injected true essence, which is the life force of the jade lamp.

"The Glow formation is the actual light-emitting formation."

Under Sun Ming's guidance, Li Xian began learning. Only after starting did he realize the complexity of the process: learning about jade textures, understanding the principles behind the five small formations, mastering the force and technique needed for cutting, and using spiritual sense to explore the structure of the jade. Although the concepts were not vast, it took an hour to explain them, after which only practice remained.

However, Li Xian became quite frustrated. It was a typical case of having high expectations but poor execution—his hands simply wouldn't cooperate. The jade cylinders he carved looked like antiques—pitted, uneven, and a complete eyesore.

Taking a deep breath, Li Xian tried to calm himself. Suddenly, a flash of insight appeared deep in his mind, a mysterious understanding surfaced in his consciousness. His spirit was stirred, and as though guided by divine intervention, he carved the five small formations on the antique-like jade cylinder with fluid grace. When he infused a final burst of true essence, the jade lamp emitted a glowing light—it was a success!

"This..." Li Xian was overwhelmed, feeling as though a tidal wave had swept through his mind. What was that sudden flash of insight? Just now, it felt as though his comprehension had increased tenfold, and all the difficulties were instantly resolved.

Li Xian was dumbfounded, and so was Sun Ming. Carving formations on an irregular jade cylinder, and succeeding on the first try, with such fluidity—it was as if, in one moment, Li Xian was a novice, and in the next, a master craftsman. The difference was astonishing!

"Heh... hehe..." Li Xian chuckled awkwardly.

Sun Ming wisely refrained from asking any questions—such was the wisdom of an elderly craftsman.

After a brief moment of staring at each other, Li Xian couldn't resist asking, "Master, why are all the jade lamps made in a cylindrical shape? Can't they be made into other shapes?"

"Why bother with other shapes? As long as they work, that's good enough," the master craftsman replied simply.

Li Xian stared at Sun Ming for a while before he suddenly had a realization. "Master, please wait a moment."

Li Xian immediately went to find Li Youwei. "Uncle, I want to take over the jade lamp workshop."

"Take over? What does that mean?" Li Youwei was completely unfamiliar with the new term.

"Uncle, how much profit does the jade lamp workshop make each year?"

When Li Youwei heard this question, he understood the situation. "It makes about 500 taels of gold a year, which is 5,000 taels of silver in pure profit."

"Uncle, if I take full responsibility for the jade lamp workshop, by this time next year, I'll turn in 600 taels of gold. How about that?"

Li Youwei looked at Li Xian for a while before finally nodding. "Alright, but I'll only give you one year. If you can't succeed, don't interfere in the workshop's affairs anymore.

"Also, everything must be produced by the workshop. You can't source materials or products from elsewhere."

"Uncle, don't worry, you'll see a different Li Xian! I will live up to Father's expectations." Li Xian thumped his chest confidently.

He then proceeded to learn all the details about the jade lamp workshop from Li Youwei.

Among the ten levels of jade lamps, the highest quality was the jadeite lamp, which had a lifespan of about one year and sold for around 5 taels of silver. The cost to produce each lamp was just over 4 taels of silver. After factoring in all the other expenses, the profit on five jadeite lamps was just 1 tael of silver. On a good day, the workshop could produce a maximum of 50 lamps.

As for the lowest grade, the white jade lamp, it also had a lifespan of one year, but sold for half a tael of silver or 500 copper coins. The profit on each white jade lamp was 50 copper coins; 20 white jade lamps would yield 1 tael of silver in profit.

The payment for craftsmen was 5 copper coins for making one white jade lamp, with 2 copper coins added for each higher level. Therefore, the payment for crafting a jadeite lamp was 23 copper coins.

After dividing these copper coins, the highest-earning craftsmen could make about 100 copper coins a day.

Such a labor method can increase output but cannot improve quality; jade lamps are actually very low-end products. Many workshops produce them, and competition is fierce.

It must be said that, despite Li Yulong’s poor reputation in the court, his reputation among the common people is very good; he has never engaged in any form of exploitation.

“For a business to be profitable, the most important thing is to develop high-end products. If technology cannot be improved, then enhance the artistry! But to make good products, the first step is to boost workers’ enthusiasm!” Guided by this principle, Li Xian’s first action after taking over the jade lamp workshop was — profit sharing.

“I will receive 80% of the pure profit and bear all the risks, including reinvestment and other matters. Everyone else will share the remaining 20% of the pure profit. From today on, we will only make artistic lighting fixtures and will no longer produce simple lighting tools.

But I have other requirements. Firstly, there will be a minimum work term of thirty years, with a six-hour workday and two days off per month. If there is overtime, compensation will be five copper coins per quarter-hour, rounded up to a quarter-hour if less.

Secondly, all techniques learned here must be kept confidential and not leaked.

You have one day to consider. We’ll meet again tomorrow afternoon.

If anyone does not wish to join, they can continue with their original job.”

Li Xian’s conditions would definitely be taken to court on Earth, labeled as a sweatshop; but here, they made many skilled craftsmen show expressions of joy.

Moreover, Li Xian really likes this world. A contract? No need, just an oath will do! No one dares to break an oath! This is a world of cultivation; it’s truly… wonderful.

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